In a wide-ranging discussion of changes
in corporate language
for the BBC, writer Lucy Kellaway really hits the nail on the head
with this comment:
One of the big banks is currently
advertising for such workers saying “we seek passionate banking
representatives to uphold our values.” This is a lie. Actually
what the bank is seeking is competent people to follow instructions
and answer the phones.
Well, exactly. It’d be great to see job ads taking a
more realistic approach, but sadly I can’t see it happening any time
soon. What’s the worst example you’ve encountered? Let us know in the
comments.
CITIZENDEE
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 12:18 PMThere are more jobs than candidates at the moment so people doing the advertising (and I’m looking at you staffing/temp agencies) have ridiculous descriptions for jobs that have no resemblance to what you will actually do day to day.
DavidC
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 4:03 PMSeek.com.au today has over 14000 jobs listed which use “passion” somewhere in the ad. The chief irritant for me is “team player” (still over 10000 jobs on seek).
I think “team player” is often used as a subconscious euphemism for “will conform” (even if it means capitulating to foolish management ideas)